But the new signing from Manchester United did his international chances no harm at all as he played a pivotal role for England Under-21s in their 5-0 demolition of Albania at the Riverside on this day in 2001.

It capped off a memorable eight days for Greening on international duty but no sooner had the final whistle gone at the Riverside and the step-over junkie had switched focus to Boro’s upcoming crunch clash with neighbours Newcastle.

“It’s been a great eight days,” said Greening, who had joined Boro with Wilson for a combined fee of £3m.

“It was a memorable night in Germany after we got that second goal to beat them.

“Then we worked hard against Albania and got our rewards in the end.

“I enjoyed scoring against Albania.

“It would be great to score against Newcastle as well. That would make a really good week for me.

“But the most important thing is that we play well as a team, beat Newcastle and get our first three points on the board.”

Boro were in desperate need of points, even at such an early stage of the campaign.

McClaren’s reign got off to a shocking start with Arsenal hitting Boro for four before consecutive away defeats at Bolton and Everton.

Meanwhile, as well as Greening and Wilson putting on a good show, the Riverside crowd had played their part in the Under-21 international.

More than 24,000 went along, although several thousand spent the first half of the opening period stood outside as long queues snaked around the ground.